Washington Redskins: What a Difference a Year Makes

By Andrew Fisher

James Lang-USA TODAY Sports

Last year at this time, the Washington Redskins were trying to better themselves by trading up in the NFL Draft. It was pretty clear they were going to take a run at Robert Griffin III, but it wasn’t completely certain they’d acquire him. Well, we all know how it worked out, and what a difference it’s made.

Now a year later, the main concern for the franchise is whether or not Griffin will be back at full strength after ACL surgery. The many years of losing seasons have almost been washed away, after only one playoff-season with a franchise quarterback at the helm. Now clearly, there’s a lot of work to be done to get the team back to the heights it hit in the 1980’s, but they’ve taken a big step in right direction.

No one saw the Redskins’ 2012 season coming. We knew RG3 was going to be good, but not that good, and that fast. Beginning in week one, he transformed the Redskins into a legitimate team in the NFC. Things went up and down, but the team held steady, and eventually worked itself into the postseason.

In 2013, it’s now just a question of how far the Redskins can go in the playoffs. They were in position to head to the divisional round last year, when RG3’s knee gave out, so there’s no reason to think they couldn’t be right back there this season.

It’s crazy to think that all of this happened as a result of trading up in the draft. RG3 has given the franchise new life in only one short year, so who knows how far a few more additions could propel the Redskins going forward.